Hope
by Yumi Edogawa
Summary: Loki finds a portal to Japan on Yggdrasil. There he meets my OCs Yukina who is a tengu (crow-demon) and Akira who is a kitsune (fox-demon.) Adventures and mischief ensue from there. Rating may eventually change to teen.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello: I don't own Loki, Yggdrasil, Ratatosk, the other Norse gods, or Sanno and his messengers. I do own my plot and original characters. Any ideas for mischief would be greatly appreciated. I already have ten pages written since this was originally for a Creative Writing class, but I will be re-editing a lot of it to add stuff that I took out before (namely honorifics) as well as expanding sections I haven't yet due to time constraints. If I use an honorific or mention something you don't recognize, please ask.**

* * *

I heard the far off voices of Thor leading Baldur, Sif, and the others in search of me. Again.

"Loki," they called. As if I would answer.

I knew what they wanted. Nothing good. I continued walking toward Yggdrasil. _This time I will climb _up _instead of down. They'll never guess which way I went. _Deciding this, I climbed nimbly up the trunk toward the all-seeing eagle at the top. After I had been climbing for a while I stopped and stepped onto a branch, so I could look out over Asgard. A minute later I turned around, but I saw a light flash in the corner of my eye. _What is that? _There was something hidden from view by the trunk on a branch of the tree which I had never explored before. I easily climbed among the branches to investigate the bright flash of light.

It was a pool of water in a rather large dip in the trunk… but something seemed strange. I drew closer and realized the pool didn't reflect my surroundings! Instead it showed me some rather strange trees. Absorbed in my thoughts, I didn't hear Ratatosk come up behind me. In his haste to reach the eagle atop the tree, he bumped into me and I fell into the water. About to yell at the irritating, giant squirrel, I realized I was sinking! _Praise Odin for teaching me to swim! Mayhap he foresaw the necessity. _With my eyes tightly shut I swam up, not realizing I had been turned around underwater. I emerged in a strange place filled with small, green trees. Their trunks were segmented and, though they reached far above me, they didn't have any large branches, only leaves on tiny ones. I glanced up and saw that most of those were up towards the top. I turned around and saw a large lake behind me, twinkling merrily in the sunlight as if it was laughing at me. Frowning at the thought, I threw a large rock into the lake, but I still didn't see Yggdrasil. _Mayhap the portal is underwater, or it could be in the center somewhere… It won't be easy to find with all this water. But that might be a good thing. 'Tis highly unlikely the others will realize I climbed _up _Yggdrasil. If they even consider that's where I went, they'll assume I climbed down to visit my mother in Jotunheim. _After a little thought, I decided. _I want to explore this place. I was getting bored in Asgard anyway and it was becoming difficult to avoid the others when Odin wasn't around. They still haven't forgiven me for my pranks, but their hatred runs deeper than that. They're arrogant snobs who hate me for having giant blood. On top of that, Odin spends the most time with me when he's not busy. I like the guy, but, for being so wise, sometimes he's a bit dense. _Lost in my thoughts, I walked through the forest in this strange, unknown land. _Mayhap I won't return until Odin comes home. The others don't dare do anything to me when he's around. I can easily spend a few days exploring._

Suddenly, I heard a strange sound above me and looked up. Some strange creature was falling out of the sky! It had hit the top of a tree and was tumbling down the trunk. I ran to try to catch it, but I was too late. It fell to the ground before I could reach it. I winced at the heavy thud._ That had to hurt. _I carefully approached. The girl had black wings crumpled beneath her. They looked like they were broken. When I reached her I bent down and picked up her wrist to try to feel a pulse, but she suddenly awoke and tried to attack me with her sword! Inimbly jumped back as she swayed. "I won't hurt you." I promised. "I merely want to help. Is there anyplace safe to take you?"

Reluctantly, she nodded, as if she was grudgingly acknowledging that she needed the assistance.

"Which way should I go?"

Just before she lost consciousness, she pointed due East. Then she collapsed. Sighing, I picked her up._ No good deed goes unpunished… But I can't just leave her here. She's injured. Please, just this one time, don't let this mercy come back to haunt me._ To the East of the clearing I found a cliff covered in vines. Under the vines was a cave. _Well, that was not very difficult._ I walked in and set her down, careful to avoid her injured wings. As soon as her lower back touched the floor she cried out in pain. Suspicious, I rolled her over and saw an arrowhead embedded there. I looked up and saw bandages next to a misty pool of water in the back of the cave . I took one of the cloth strips and bunched it up, then handed it to her. "This is going to hurt," I warned her as I gave her the bundled bandage. "You might want to bite down on this."

"I shall be fine. Take it out immediately, as swiftly as you can." The mysterious girl ordered, refusing the proffered bandage.

Well… there wasn't much I could do if she didn't want something to distract her from the pain. Although, I realized, I could distract her by talking. "What are you?"

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**Can anyone guess what she is?**

**Note: The title probably won't make sense until later.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Last time: "What are you?"**

* * *

"Impudent boy," she glared at me. "As a human you should know very well that I am a tengu."

"I am not human, nor am I from this world of yours. I live in Asgard, the Realm of the Gods."

Shocked, she turned to look at me. "I have never heard of this place. The realm of the gods is Takama no Hara, not Asgard."

"Perhaps it is in your world," as I continued speaking, I swiftly removed the arrowhead by gripping the stub of the shaft, "but not mine." I finished as she stiffened and clenched her jaw to keep from crying out.

"You are a lying trickster and a fool."

"A trickster mayhap, but not a liar. Well, not usually. In any case I'm not lying to you now… My name is Loki." I answered as I took one bandage and pressed down on the wound.

Obviously not believing a word I said, she replied, "I am Kurotsune no Yukina."

"Umm, mayhap I should have asked 'what should I call you?' instead," I replied as I lifted the bandage and wrapped the wound.

"You may call me Yukina-hime or Yukina-sama, Loki-san."

_Odd name… and why is she calling herself a Princess? _"Do you mind if I simply call you Yuki? It will be easier to remember."

She glared at me with such ferocity I almost cut myself with the arrowhead I was holding as I fell back in the face of her wrath.

"No you may not. I do not know you at all and even my closest friends refer to me as Yukina-chan or Yuki-chan."

"In that case, may I call you Yukina?"

"Fine," she huffed, "but only since you aided me. Will you please hand me the arrow?"

_I think 'tis best to keep my mouth shut for now. She is injured and deserves some leniency. _I decided as I passed her the arrowhead. As soon as she saw it her face turned ashen.

"The only cure for this poison is several days journey away, even if I was flying. Walking would take weeks to get there… I don't have that long."

_What can I do? Is there anything in Asgard that might help? Oh, wait! I can give her one of Iduna's golden apples! Those apples restore health as well as youth. I had almost forgotten since no one in Asgard gets sick. _"I know something that can cure you. I will return from Asgard with one of Iduna's golden apples."

"What is an apple?"

"A type of fruit that grows on trees."

"How do you know this fruit will save me?"

"These apples can cure any illness, but they only work if Iduna picks them for you. I will trick her to get one for you."

"Very well."

"I will be back as soon as I can," I said as I raced off into the trees. When I came upon the pool, I hid my map under a large rock and jumped in the water. After several minutes I found the portal and finally emerged in Asgard.

I swiftly ran to Iduna's orchard and formed an illusion which made me appear to be Odin. "Iduna, Baldur hath been injured. I must needs one of your golden apples to mend him."

Worried, Iduna quickly picked one and handed it to me. "Many thanks fair Iduna 'twill set the mind of mine wife Frigga and mine own at ease." I stated, bowing courteously. Iduna blushed, happy to be of assistance to Odin, the wisest of the gods, and Baldur, the most beloved of the gods. _That was easy, _I thought as I turned toward Breidablik, Baldur's palace, and walked off until I was out of sight. _Everyone loves Baldur, _I thought, strangely depressed. I shook off my morose thoughts and hurried to return to Yukina.


End file.
